Federal Register / Vol. 71, No. 187 / Wednesday, September 27, 2006 / Notices 56585 

1The Board will grant a stay if an informed 

decision on environmental issues (whether raised 

by a party or by the Board’s Section of 

Environmental Analysis (SEA) in its independent 

investigation) cannot be made before the 

exemption’s effective date. See Exemption of Outof-Service Rail Lines, 5 I.C.C.2d 377 (1989). Any 

request for a stay should be filed as soon as possible 

so that the Board may take appropriate action before 

the exemption’s effective date. 

2Each OFA must be accompanied by the filing 

fee, which was increased to $1,300 effective on 

April 19, 2006. See Regulations Governing Fees for 

Services Performed in Connection with Licensing 

and Related Services—2006 Update, STB Ex Parte 

No. 542 (Sub-No. 13) (STB served Mar. 20, 2006). 

3NSR states that the City of Gastonia (the City) 

is interested in acquiring a 1.8-mile segment of the 

right-of-way between milepost HG 45.0 and 

milepost 46.8 for interim trail use under the 

National Trails System Act and for the creation of 

a greenway. NSR indicates that it is agreeable to 

conveying this segment to the City. 

currently provided by the regulations. 

This notice is PHMSA’s only request for 

public comment before making a 

decision. After considering any 

comments received, PHMSA’s will 

make a determination to grant SPLNG’s 

waiver request as proposed or with 

modifications and conditions or deny 

SPLNG’s request. If the waiver is 

granted and PHMSA subsequently 

determines that the effect of the waiver 

is inconsistent with pipeline safety, 

PHMSA may impose additional 

conditions on the operator or revoke the 

waiver at its sole discretion. 

Issued in Washington, DC on September 

19, 2006. 

Theodore L. Willke, 

Acting Associate Administrator for Pipeline 

Safety. 

[FR Doc. E6–15880 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–60–P 

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION 

Surface Transportation Board 

[STB Docket No. AB–290 (Sub-No. 275X)] 

Norfolk Southern Railway Company—

Abandonment Exemption—in Gaston 

County, NC 

Norfolk Southern Railway Company 

(NSR) has filed a notice of exemption 

under 49 CFR part 1152 Subpart F—

Exempt Abandonments to abandon a 

2.0-mile line of railroad between 

milepost HG 45.0 and milepost 47.0 in 

Gastonia, in Gaston County, NC. The 

line traverses United States Postal 

Service Zip Codes 28052, 28054, and 

28056 and includes the former station of 

North Gastonia. 

NSR has certified that: (1) No local 

traffic has moved over the line for at 

least 2 years; (2) no overhead traffic has 

moved over the line for at least 2 years 

and overhead traffic, if there were any, 

could be rerouted over other lines; (3) 

no formal complaint filed by a user of 

rail service on the line (or by a State or 

local government entity acting on behalf 

of such user) regarding cessation of 

service over the line either is pending 

with the Surface Transportation Board 

or with any U.S. District Court or has 

been decided in favor of complainant 

within the 2-year period; and (4) the 

requirements of 49 CFR 1105.7 

(environmental report), 49 CFR 1105.8 

(historic report), 49 CFR 1105.11 

(transmittal letter), 49 CFR 1105.12 

(newspaper publication) and 49 CFR 

1152.50(d)(1) (notice to governmental 

agencies) have been met. 

As a condition to this exemption, any 

employee adversely affected by the 

abandonment shall be protected under 

Oregon Short Line R. Co.—

Abandonment—Goshen, 360 I.C.C. 91 

(1979). To address whether this 

condition adequately protects affected 

employees, a petition for partial 

revocation under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) 

must be filed. 

Provided no formal expression of 

intent to file an offer of financial 

assistance (OFA) has been received, this 

exemption will be effective on October 

27, 2006, unless stayed pending 

reconsideration. Petitions to stay that do 

not involve environmental issues,1

formal expressions of intent to file an 

OFA under 49 CFR 1152.27(c)(2),2 and 

trail use/rail banking requests under 49 

CFR 1152.29 must be filed by October 

10, 2006.3 Petitions to reopen or 

requests for public use conditions under 

49 CFR 1152.28 must be filed by 

October 17, 2006, with the Surface 

Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, 

NW., Washington, DC 20423–0001. 

A copy of any petition filed with the 

Board should be sent to NSR’s 

representative: James R. Paschall, 

Norfolk Southern Corporation, Three 

Commercial Place, Norfolk, VA 23510. 

If the verified notice contains false or 

misleading information, the exemption 

is void ab initio. 

NSR has filed environmental and 

historic reports which address the 

effects, if any, of the abandonment on 

the environment and historic resources. 

SEA will issue an environmental 

assessment (EA) by October 2, 2006. 

Interested persons may obtain a copy of 

the EA by writing to SEA (Room 500, 

Surface Transportation Board, 

Washington, DC 20423–0001) or by 

calling SEA, at (202) 565–1539. 

[Assistance for the hearing impaired is 

available through the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339.] Comments on 

environmental and historic preservation 

matters must be filed within 15 days 

after the EA becomes available to the 

public. 

Environmental, historic preservation, 

public use, or trail use/rail banking 

conditions will be imposed, where 

appropriate, in a subsequent decision. 

Pursuant to the provisions of 49 CFR 

1152.29(e)(2), NSR shall file a notice of 

consummation with the Board to signify 

that it has exercised the authority 

granted and fully abandoned the line. If 

consummation has not been effected by 

NSR’s filing of a notice of 

consummation by September 27, 2007, 

and there are no legal or regulatory 

barriers to consummation, the authority 

to abandon will automatically expire. 

Board decisions and notices are 

available on our Web site at http:// 

www.stb.dot.gov. 

Decided: September 18, 2006. 

By the Board, David M. Konschnik, 

Director, Office of Proceedings. 

Vernon A. Williams, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 06–8167 Filed 9–26–06; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4915–01–P 


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